Hypnotherapy Revealed to Boost Outcomes of Fertility Treatment

Researchers from India’s Samanvaya Trust and MS University in Baroda investigated the efficacy of hypnotherapy for couples seeking fertility solutions.

Over a period of 28 years, 554 couples with what is referred to there as “unexplained reproductive failure” were studied.

Hypnotherapy was added to the standard protocol for fertility. Initially the hypnosis was targeted at general stress relief, but it evolved into including more specific, identified stressors such as the stress associated with infertility (100%) and other stressors of marital life.

The success rate of pregnancy with hypnosis was 71.67%.

Although this was not a double blind study, 349 of the 554 couples had been unsuccessfully treated elsewhere before entering the study. These couples had the same success rate of 70%.

The researchers interpret this unprecedented, high success rate as evidence that “unexplained reproductive failure” is psycho-dynamically triggered and reversible with psychotherapeutic hypnosis. They conclude that when psychosomatic stress is alleviated with hypnotherapy, there are remarkable results.

[Ed. Note: this appears to be a hasty logical leap. It is not clear from this study exactly what the mechanism of success from hypnosis is operating here.]

Psychotherapist, author and guided imagery pioneer Belleruth Naparstek is the creator of the popular Health Journeys guided imagery audio series. Her latest book on imagery and posttraumatic stress, Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal (Bantam Dell), won the Spirituality & Health Top 50 Books Award.